Following a sensational launch at the Tate Modern in London, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is proud to announce with great fanfare the North American premiere in Québec City of the Alberto Giacometti exhibition. From February 8 to May 13, 2018, visitors can discover this major retrospective presented by Desjardins in the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion of the MNBAQ and appreciate the emblematic work of one of the 20th century’s foremost artists.

This outstanding project also stems from the unfailing commitment of Desjardins, a key partner of the MNBAQ and its foundation, which will enable Québec City to host this exhibition devoted to Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), a Swiss sculptor and painter who lived in Paris, the first one organized in North America for over 15 years by the Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti in Paris.

Giacometti is known for his unique sculptures of inordinately elongated subjects or threadlike figures with especially detailed surfaces, but the exhibition will also celebrate the painter. The Québec City exhibition will feature paintings and original plaster casts, including several never before exhibited.

Among the masterpieces assembled, Suspended Ball, Pointing Man and the celebrated Walking Man are included in the impressive body of nearly 150 works from the varied collection of the Fondation and major European collections. This unique exhibition will highlight roughly 100 sculptures and 50 paintings, ranging from the artist’s early work in Paris in the 1920s to his crowning achievements in the 1960s, a brilliant career that spanned over five decades.

A renowned curator, Catherine Grenier, the Director and General Curator of the Fondation Giacometti since 2014, has worked on 30 major exhibitions, in particular at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, including Les années Pop (2001) and Los Angeles 1955-1985 (2006). She has coordinated this outstanding project that showcases Giacometti’s career marked by surrealism but also his interest in African art.

The UK press has commented enthusiastically on the exhibition since it opened. “Giacometti review - A spectacular hymn to human survival,” noted The Manchester Guardian. According to The Times, “the intensity of this huge range of work by Giacometti is thrilling.”